Device to guarantee the tension and access to the reverse face of a stretched canvas

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device to guarantee the tension and free access to the reverse face of a stretched canvas ( 3 ) on support means ( 5   a   , 5   b ) embodying a lining element ( 1 ) and particularly a wall or ceiling element. Said device is characterized in comprising at least one automatic closure ( 6 ), of the zipper type, which extends along at least a part of one of the dimensions of said wall.

The present invention relates to a device intended to promote access tothe reverse face of a stretched canvas, constituting in particular awall such as for example a ceiling, and to ensure the tension of thiscanvas.

It is known that stretched canvasses have been used for some years toconstitute walls, such as for example ceilings or mural walls. They arealso used for constituting decorative elements, for example ofcylindrical shape such as columns, or elements in volume of any shape,most of the time of revolution.

In certain of these applications, transparent or translucent canvassesare called upon, this making it possible to include therewith means forillumination which enhance them by transparency. It will be appreciatedthat, under these conditions, the problem of cleaning and maintenance,particularly of the illumination means and therefore of the access tothe reverse face of these canvasses, is raised.

Up to the present time, the various maintenance operations were carriedout by previously dismantling the canvasses from the frames serving toensure tension thereof. Now, it is known that such an operation,although it is simple and rapid to carry out when it is effected by aprofessional, cannot be effected efficiently by a simple consumer whodoes not have available, on the one hand, the know-how or, on the otherhand, the necessary tools.

Patent U.S. Pat. No. 2,302,547 for example proposed a device ensuringfixation of a decorative supple wall on a mural wall employingzipper-type closures, in which the tension of the canvas is ensured bytighteners which are applied at the lower corners of the canvas.

It is an object of the present invention to propose guaranteeing thetension of the canvas by means of the closure itself, to the exclusionof any other tensioning element thereof.

The present invention thus has for its object a device intended toguarantee the tension and free access to the reverse face of a canvasstretched on support means, and constituting a lining element, and inparticular a wall or ceiling element, comprising at least one mechanicalclosure, of the zipper type, which extends over at least a part of atleast one of the dimensions of said wall, characterized in that thecanvas is constituted by an elastic material and in that its dimensions,before being placed under tension, are less than those of the supportmeans (5 a, 5 b).

The dimension of the canvas, in the direction in which the closureextends, will preferably be less than that of its support means by aquantity included between 0.5 and 3% and preferably of the order of 2%.Similarly, the dimension of the canvas in the direction perpendicular tothat in which the closure extends, may be less than that of its supportmeans by a quantity included between 0.5 and 15% and preferably of theorder of 7%.

The canvas will preferably be constituted by polyvinyl chloride or PVC.

The wall element may present the shape of a cylinder of revolution andthe zipper-type closure will preferably be disposed along one of thegeneratrices of this element. The base of the cylinder may be of anyshape, and in particular polygonal.

Fixation of the mechanical closure on the canvas will preferably beeffected by high frequency welding, but may equally well be carried outby any other means and in particular by adhesion or stitching.

A form of embodiment of the present invention will be describedhereinafter by way of non-limiting example, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a cylindrical luminous element with 5hexagonal base which is equipped with a device for access and tensioningaccording to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the implementation of the access andtensioning device according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a variant embodiment of the access andtensioning device according to the invention.

FIG. 3 a is another variant embodiment of the invention in whichclosures are disposed along each of the sides of a canvas intended toconstitute in particular a mural wall.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of another variant embodiment of the access andtensioning device according to the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a decorative element 1 of cylindrical shape, which isconstituted by two hexagonal support plates, namely an upper plate 5 aand a lower plate 5 b on which a canvas 3 is stretched.

The canvas 3 used is made of a deformable and elastic material, such as,preferably, polyvinyl chloride, commonly called PVC. In the present formof embodiment, the canvas is of translucent type and is formed by sixwidths 8 of which the width corresponds to each of the sides of thesupport plates 5 a and 5 b and which are joined together so that theirconnection is effected along the generatrix joining each of the anglesof the upper (5 a) and lower (5 b) plates. At the centre of thedecorative element 1, there have been disposed illumination meansconstituted for example by a rectilinear luminous tube 9 which ismaintained along the longitudinal axis yy′ of the element 1 by means notshown in the drawing.

According to the invention, there has been disposed, along one of thegeneratrices of connection of the different widths 8, a mechanicalclosure 6 (of the so-called “zip” type) which extends from the lowerplate 5 b towards the upper plate 5 a, so that closure is in that caseeffected from the lower part towards the upper part.

Under these conditions, it will be understood that the mechanicalclosure 6 substantially merges with the line of connection of the widths8, and that it is consequently virtually invisible to an observer'seyes. In order to render it even more undetectable, the width of theother lines of connection may be increased, so that even an attentiveobserver will not be able to distinguish these lines from one another.

At least one of the dimensions of the canvas will be made to be lessthan that of the corresponding elements which support it. For example,the height thereof (i.e. in a dimension in whose direction the closure 6extends) will be less by 2% than the spaced apart relationship of theplates 5 a, 5 b.

Similarly, the length of the canvas in the other dimension, i.e.perpendicularly to the direction of the closure 6, will be less by 7%than the perimeter of the hexagonal bases 5 a and 5 b. In this way, whenthe mechanical closure 6 is closed, the tension of the canvas will beguaranteed both in height and in width.

The present invention thus allows a user to have an easy and immediateaccess, on the one hand, to the reverse face of the stretched canvas 3,particularly in order to clean it or remove therefrom parasites orinsects that may cover it and become visible by transparency, and, onthe other hand, to the illumination system 9 in order to ensure cleaningand maintenance thereof, and this without being obliged to call upon theservices of a professional, beforehand.

Of course, the present invention may be implemented on elements of verydiverse shapes, other than cylindrical shapes.

For example, it may thus be used on an element 1 such as that shown inFIG. 2, which is also constituted by two lower (5 a) and upper (5 b)(sic) plates on which the canvas 8 is stretched. These two plates areoctogonal in shape and the lower plate 5 b is of smaller dimensions thatthe upper plate 5 a. The two plates are aligned with respect to eachother so that the eight sides thus formed are each symmetrical withrespect to a plane passing through axis yy′. The canvas 3 is constitutedby eight widths 8 which are joined together so that their connection iseffected along the line joining each of the angles of the upper (5 a)and lower (5 b) plates.

According to the invention and as previously, the mechanical closure 6is disposed on one of the lines of join of the different widths 8, andthis for aesthetic reasons.

The closure 6 may, of course, equally well be disposed on one of thesides, for example in the middle thereof.

Of course, the present invention is applicable to elements other thanthose of caisson type previously mentioned and might for example be usedin relation with walls, particularly mural walls or ceilings.

For example, according to the invention, as shown in FIG. 3, amechanical closure 6 may be disposed along the longitudinal axis of aceiling constituted by a stretched canvas 3, at a short distance from ofthe sides thereof. The closure 6 may equally well be disposed at thecentre of the ceiling or along the transverse axis thereof.

According to the invention, as shown in FIG. 3 a, there may be disposedon certain of the sides of a canvas 3 stretched on slats, and whichconstitutes a ceiling, one or more mechanical closures 6 a, 6 b, 6 cthus allowing a user to have access to the reverse face of the canvas 3or to that part of the ceiling located thereabove.

Furthermore, it is known that there exist certain configurations ofstretched canvasses in which, as shown in FIG. 4, a particular canvaselement 10 is disposed in the middle of a different canvas 14, thesecanvas elements being joined by a zipper-type closure 6. Thisarrangement may for example make it possible to constitute a trap foraccess to the concealed part of a ceiling. The invention also allows auser to replace one canvas element by another, as desired, and thisrapidly and easily, without to that end being obliged to call upon theservices of a professional.

The canvas elements 10 and 14 may be constituted by canvasses ofdifferent colour or surface appearance, this also procuring advantagesfrom the aesthetic standpoint.

1. Device intended to guarantee the tension and free access to thereverse face of a canvas (3) stretched on support means (5 a, 5 b), andconstituting a lining element (1), and in particular a wall or ceilingelement, comprising at least one mechanical closure (6), of the zippertype, which extends over at least a part of at least one of thedimensions of said wall, characterized in that the canvas (3) isconstituted by an elastic material and in that its dimensions, beforebeing placed under tension, are less than those of the support means (5a, 5 b).
 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that thedimension of the canvas (3), in the direction in which the closure (6)extends, is less than that of its support means by a quantity includedbetween 0.5 and 3% and preferably of the order of 2%.
 3. Deviceaccording to one of claim 1, characterized in that the dimension of thecanvas (3), in the direction perpendicular to that in which the closure(6) extends, is less than that of its support means by a quantityincluded between 0.5 and 15% and preferably of the order of 7%. 4.Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the canvas (3) isconstituted by polyvinyl chloride or PVC.
 5. Device according to claim1, characterized in that the element (1) presents the form of a cylinderand the closure (6) is disposed along one of the generatrices thereof.6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the element (1) isconstituted by a cylinder with polygonal base.
 7. Device according toone claim 1, characterized in that the closure (6) is fixed on thecanvas (3) by adhesion.
 8. Device according to claim 1, characterized inthat the closure (6) is fixed on the canvas (3) by welding, particularlyof high frequency type.
 9. Device according to claim 1, characterized inthat the closure (6) is fixed on the canvas (3) by stitching.
 10. Deviceaccording to claim 2, characterized in that the dimension of the canvas(3), in the direction perpendicular to that in which the closure (6)extends, is less than that of its support means by a quantity includedbetween 0.5 and 15% and preferably of the order of 7%.